


snapshots

by Jothowrote



Series: Cambridge AU [2]
Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Cambridge AU, Gen, Human AU, M/M, Missing Scenes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 08:47:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20273191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jothowrote/pseuds/Jothowrote
Summary: Missing scenes from As I am. The Cambridge human AU.The Ski Trip: Tjelvar spills some spicy gossip to Hamid. (set after As I am)The Break-up: Zolf has a minor crisis and makes some rash decisions. (set after chapter 1 of As I am)





	snapshots

**Author's Note:**

> This verse will not leave me alone.  
I'm posting these in the order I wrote them, but chronologically the first one is set after the entirety of As I am, and the second is set straight after chapter 1.
> 
> The first short was inspired by MidnightMew's comment about wanting to know what went down on Bertie's ski trip. It turned out that I also wanted to know! 
> 
> The second was inspired by Ben's reveal that Zolf is bi/ace. Written from my perspective as ace/demi, so if it disagrees with anyone's own experiences of being ace I apologise - I was projecting hard on Zolf and using this as catharsis.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy!

**The Ski Trip**

Hamid visited Bertie every month or so, bringing fresh cut flowers for his bedside and updating him with the various news and gossip, though he always felt a little foolish talking to an unconscious body. The private facility Hamid had chosen was modern and clean, and the staff were attentive and discreet. It was just outside of town, had its own parking and a large, sprawling country garden, and looked from the outside like a stately home.

It was perfect for someone like Bertie. It had better be, for the amount Hamid was paying.

Hamid most often went alone. Occasionally Zolf went with him, but he never went any further than the small café and waiting room on the ground floor. Hamid always went to Bertie’s room alone.

On a warm autumn day, leaving Zolf in his favourite armchair, occupied with a hot chocolate and the latest Campbell novel, Hamid took the lift to the third floor and walked into Bertie’s room without knocking.

To his great surprise there was someone already there.

‘Tjelvar?’ Hamid queried. ‘Is that you?’

Tjelvar stood up abruptly, whirling around to face him.

‘Oh, Hamid!’ he said. ‘Uh, yes. Ed and I came to visit, since we heard… well. You know.’

Hamid did know. The doctors working with Bertie had informed Hamid less than a month ago that the longer Bertie remained in his coma, the less likely it would be that he would ever wake up. And that the chances of that happening now, almost six months after the accident, with Bertie showing no response to magical or non-magical healing, were practically nil.

Hamid had passed the information on to Wilde. The news must have travelled around campus.

‘Yeah,’ Hamid said, sniffing a little.

‘We brought flowers too,’ Tjelvar said, gesturing to the bouquet of gladioli in Hamid’s arms, ‘but Ed left them in the car. He’s gone to get them.’ Tjelvar smiled a little ruefully. ‘I imagine it’ll take him a little while to find his way back here.’

Hamid smiled.

‘I’m sure Bertie would be glad that you came to see him,’ he said, sniffing again, and going to arrange his flowers in the free vase on the bedside table.

‘Hah. Maybe,’ Tjelvar said, sitting back down and rubbing a hand over his face. ‘I wouldn’t be so sure. We didn’t exactly part on great terms.’

‘What… did happen, on the ski trip?’ Hamid asked, unable to contain his curiosity. ‘Bertie seemed a little quieter when he got back.’

Tjelvar stared down at his lap and shuffled his feet awkwardly. The soft beeping of Bertie’s life support filled the silence.

‘I wanted to go try some of the black diamond slopes,’ Tjelvar admitted. ‘The really hard ones, you know? Bertie overheard me telling Ed about it, and invited himself along – probably hoping to embarrass me in front of Ed and show off his superior physical prowess.’ 

Hamid nodded along – that sounded a lot like Bertie.

‘So, you all went to the hard slopes?’

‘Well, not exactly,’ Tjelvar said, looking incredibly embarrassed. ‘We got to one, and then Bertie and I fell out over who should go down first, and Ed saw a snow leopard and wandered off. By the time we found him and chased off the leopard – which the idiot kept trying to heal – we were all lost.’

Hamid only just stopped himself from rolling his eyes. Beside them, still and peaceful on the hospital bed, Bertie’s chest rose and fell.

‘Luckily we eventually found an old holiday cabin to shack up in for the night and we… uh… huddled together for warmth.’

The words themselves were innocuous enough, but Tjelvar’s ears were bright red and he wouldn’t look Hamid in the eye.

‘You didn’t,’ Hamid breathed.

Tjelvar, staring determinedly at his knees, nodded.

‘The three of you?’

Another nod. 

Hamid let out a long, slow whistle. Tjelvar was a good-looking chap, classically handsome and well-spoken, and Ed was quite literally a golden god – Hamid was amazed that Bertie hadn’t been bragging about his exploits as soon as he got back to Cambridge.

‘He’s got a lot of charisma,’ Tjelvar said miserably.

Hamid hoped desperately that wasn’t code for ‘has a big dick’.

‘That’s not all, though, right?’ Hamid asked. ‘He would never have shut up about it otherwise.’

‘Ed was pretty blunt the next morning,’ Tjelvar said. ‘You know Ed. Says what he thinks. Has no filter. Means he’s always a bit too honest. I don’t know what Bertie was expecting, but Ed was a bit harsh.’

Hamid really wanted to know, but also didn’t know if he could survive knowing the actual details.

‘Harsh about… his technique?’ Hamid asked delicately.

‘More like, harsh about his lifestyle choices,’ Tjelvar said. ‘Ed basically said that it was a one-off and Bertie was due some serious character growth. I think Bertie was expecting to whisk Ed off into the sunrise and he took it a bit badly.’

‘And that’s it?’

‘Pretty much. Ed felt awful about it, when we heard what had happened.’

‘Probably did Bertie some good,’ Hamid said, waving a hand dismissively. ‘Actually kept him quiet for a while.’

The door swung open loudly; Hamid and Tjelvar jumped in synch and turned to see Ed bounding in, a huge bouquet overflowing in his arms. 

‘Finally,’ he said, going over to Tjelvar. ‘This place is a maze. I got right lost.’

To Hamid’s surprise, Zolf stumped his way into the room behind Ed. 

‘He was wandering around the café looking lost and confused,’ Zolf said quietly, in response to Hamid’s questioning eyebrows. ‘I thought I should check his collar, see who he belonged to.’

Hamid pinched him. Zolf yelped in surprise and betrayal.

‘Don’t be mean,’ Hamid said primly.

‘Thanks for the directions, Zolf,’ Ed said, beaming. Hamid liked Ed. He was so uncomplicated. He was refreshing.

‘Yes. Thanks for finding him before he starved to death,’ Tjelvar said, winking at Hamid. ‘Put the bouquet down, Ed, we should head off soon so we don’t hit traffic.’

‘Alright,’ Ed said affably. ‘I’d like to say a quick prayer to Apollo for Bertram, if that’s ok with you?’ He looked over to Hamid.

‘We should also be getting back,’ Zolf said, hurriedly, taking Hamid’s arm and tugging him towards the door. ‘Good to meet you.’

Hamid waved goodbye as he was towed away.

‘What’s the rush?’ he asked, as Zolf hurriedly stumped towards the lift.

‘I’m, uh, not exactly on Poseidon’s good side at the moment,’ he said, stabbing at the down button. ‘I want to keep well clear of any other gods for a bit, just in case.’

Hamid decided to ask for the details later.  
*

**The break-up**

After a very tiring night of revelations, it had taken Hamid ages to get to sleep, his mind ringing with information. Alongside the rather terrifying news of his ancestry was the sweet, fizzing excitement of a new relationship. When he wasn’t worrying about the meritocrats and his own volatile magic – and if he would actually end up turning into a _dragon_ \- he re-lived the kiss he and Zolf had parted on and clutched his duvet tightly with joy.

He must have fallen asleep eventually, despite the constant whirling of thoughts, since he woke up with the sunlight slanting through a gap in his curtains, feeling remarkably at peace with the world.

Hamid wandered to the kitchen in his pyjamas and ate his muesli to the sounds of Bertie snoring from his room, quite unable to stop himself smiling.

As he sipped his coffee, delighting in the world and all its wonders, there was a knock on his front door.

‘Come in!’ Hamid called, cheerily.

Zolf burst in, eyes wide and manic.

‘I can’t do this,’ he yelled. ‘Hamid – I can’t.’

And then he slammed out. There was the thumping sound of Zolf hurriedly running up the stairs to his own flat, the slamming of a door, and then thuds sounded across Hamid’s ceiling.

Hamid froze. 

He listened to Zolf pacing furiously above him for a while longer. He checked his watch. Zolf would have left by now if he’d had a day shift, so Hamid knew he was free.

Hamid methodically washed up his breakfast bowl and coffee cup, dried them, and placed them back in the cupboards. Then he put on his dressing gown and slippers, puffed up his metaphorical feathers, and stormed upstairs.

He didn’t bother to knock at Zolf’s front door. It burst open from a single glance, hinges smoking faintly, and Hamid walked straight through. 

Zolf stared at him in shock. Hamid raised a hand and pointed at him imperiously.

‘Sit. Down,’ he said, loudly and clearly.

Zolf, apparently from surprise more than anything else, did so. The springs of his armchair squeaked nervously beneath him.

‘Hamid-‘

‘What was _that_ for?’ Hamid squeaked, a little shriller than he would have liked. ‘I thought… I thought we were… how _could_ you?’

Zolf did look satisfyingly shame-faced, but Hamid wasn’t done.

‘Not even an explanation!’ He yelled. ‘What could have possibly happened in the last…’ Hamid checked his watch, performed some quick mental maths, ‘ten hours to make you change your mind?’

Hamid paused, chest heaving beneath his tartan dressing gown. Then, in a smaller voice, 

‘Was it… was it something I did?’

Zolf’s face fell – he stood up quickly, hands outstretched.

‘No, no, Hamid, it wasn’t anything you did, I promise,’ he said, hobbling forward. Hamid, to his great embarrassment, felt tears pricking at his eyes. He stared at the ceiling and blinked rapidly, willing them back down.

‘Oh, Hamid, it’s me,’ Zolf said, gathering Hamid up in a hug. Hamid didn’t resist but didn’t contribute either, and hung limply in Zolf’s arms.

‘Oh, classic,’ Hamid sniffed. ‘The ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ line. Never had it used _on_ me before.’

‘You’ve used it a lot, then, have you,’ Zolf said, hint of a smile in his voice. 

‘I’ll have you know I was something of a playboy in my youth,’ Hamid said, a little haughtily, pulling his head back from Zolf’s chest to stare up at him.

Zolf just snorted.

‘In your youth, my foot. You’re still in your youth.’

‘In my younger youth, then,’ Hamid said. ‘Stop distracting me. What’s wrong? Have you had second thoughts? Because I think I deserve to know what they are.’

‘No, Hamid,’ Zolf said, stepping back and looking at him fondly. Hamid was struck by the sadness in his eyes. ‘I just…’

‘Because the age gap really isn’t that bad,’ Hamid continued, having apparently contracted word vomit in the past few minutes and unable to stop himself. ‘And I think you’re very attractive, so is it the… magic thing? There’s not much I can do about that,’ Hamid admitted, ‘but is it such a big problem? I mean, it’s not like the Harlequins will ever get out DNA tests or anything... unless you’re worried that your family will disapprove-‘

‘My family don’t even know I’m bi,’ Zolf said, loudly, all in a rush.

Hamid abruptly snapped his mouth shut. 

‘But,’ he began, before shutting it again. 

‘I know, I know,’ Zolf said tiredly, running his hands over his face. ‘You’re thinking, “But you’re thirty years old! Your family live on the other side of the country!” Believe me, all the questions you have are ones I’ve asked myself.’

‘Are they not… accepting?’ Hamid asked delicately.

Zolf just shrugged.

‘I dunno,’ he said. ‘I left home pretty young to join the navy and did my medic training, and that was when I figured out I, you know, go both ways. But I never had anything serious with anyone, and I’ve never been fussed about casual sex or really sex at all, unless it’s with someone I care a lot about-‘

‘You’re ace?’

‘Pardon?’

‘Asexual? Not sexually attracted to anyone?’

‘I guess,’ Zolf said. ‘Never really labelled it before. Just… it just felt like a lot of effort that I wasn’t all that fussed about. Not that I don’t want to… you know… with you,’ he said, his face growing steadily more red.

‘It’s ok,’ Hamid said, gently. ‘We can talk about that stuff later.’

Zolf heaved a huge sigh.

‘It just never seemed worth it to tell them and rock the boat, as it were,’ he said, ‘when there was no reason to. And once I left the navy and became a nurse. Well. I was always so busy. Never really bothered with relationships. So I never needed to tell them. And now…’

‘Now you feel like you have to?’ Hamid asked.

Zolf shrugged again. ‘Not really fair on you if I don’t,’ he said. ‘But it’s a lot to put on you, and I’m not… sex is something everyone seems to want a lot and I’m not sure I can-‘

‘Zolf,’ Hamid said, firmly, ‘we’re not all like the characters in Campbell’s books.’

‘Bertie is.’

‘Well, Bertie’s a special case. But really, Zolf,’ and Hamid drew closer, and rested a hand on his arm, ‘you must know that I don’t care about all that? I like _you_. Whatever package that comes in.’

Zolf opened his mouth.

‘And I’m not going to be mad if you don’t tell your parents you’re bi ace and dating a man straight away,’ Hamid said quickly. ‘Honestly, Zolf, you’re really an idiot sometimes.’

Zolf chuckled.

‘I may have overreacted,’ he said, a little shamefaced.

‘I’d say,’ Hamid grinned. ‘I think you at least owe me pancakes to soothe my broken heart.’

‘Haven’t you already had breakfast this morning?’

Hamid just smiled beatifically at him. Zolf rolled his eyes.

‘Come on then, Mr Playboy,’ he said, as he threw an arm around Hamid and walked over to the kitchen. ‘You can crack the eggs.’

**Author's Note:**

> I have another one of these half-written too, so even though I'm marking this as complete there may be more in the future.


End file.
